New Brewer Questions

[rpatchy]

Hey everyone! New brewer here. I just got a Mr.Beer kit as a gift since I have always wanted to make my own beer. I instantly started making my first batch of Aztec Mexican Cerveza. From everything I heard from Mr.Beer I was supposed to follow the 2-2-2(2 weeks in LBK, 2 weeks bottled in room temperature and 2 weeks in the fridge), but today is 2 weeks in the fermenter and I was just about to bottle before I found this amazing website. From browsing the message boards I have seen people are suggesting to follow the 3-4 rule. Since I was just about to bottle at 2 weeks this was like someone just threw a curve ball at me So, I just want to ask all you experts if I now have the right way of doing this:

-leave in LBK for 3 weeks at temperature between 68F-75F(mine has been around 70F)
-cold crash the LBK in the fridge for 2-3 days...and I saw some advice to put something under the spigot-side so it tilts the LBK in the fridge to move the trub to the back. (Is that right?)
-bottle beer(using 1Lt plastic Mr.Beer bottles...will move to glass on 2nd batch) and let sit in room temperature dark room for 4 weeks.
-Put 1 bottle in fridge for 2-3 days before trying. Then wait a week and do the same with 2nd bottle.

Does that sound right? Anything I am missing? Thanks so much fellow brewers, I know there are tons of posts about this exact same thing, but its just nice to hear I am doing this right lol. Very excited!

[DirtRacer]

Welcome and yes that is correct. Although cold crashing isn't a necessary step, if you have the room in the fridge then it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and cold crash just to help clear up the beer.

[Wings_Fan_In_KC]

PS. I always cold crash three days before my normal bottling day......Wednesday if bottling on Saturday, etc.

If you brew on the weekend like I do and cold crash after the three weeks period is up, then you end up bottling on Tuesday or Wednesday. That's why I cold crash "three days early."

[Inkleg]

WOW someone has done their homework. First Welcome to the Borg, we are glad you're here. Second, Yes to all the above of the steps you posted. A cold crash is not necessary, but will help with clearer beer.
3 weeks fermenting and 4 conditioning if you can stand it that long always helps. Spacing out the times putting them in the fridge will help you to see how they develop over time.
Looks like you have learned a lot in your reading and will do VERY well.

[LouieMacGoo]

First off

Secondly there really isn't anything I can add to what the others have pointed out so I'll just say we're glad you found us!

[FrozenInTime]

Welcome to the forum!

[rpatchy]

Thanks SO much for the quick replies everyone! I appreciate it!! It is nice to see everyone on here is so helpful and no sign of 'trolls' so far. I can't wait to try my beer, I made the Aztec since I really think it will be the worst of the 5 types that I have. The Bewitched Amber Ale with the extra Brewmax LME-smooth is the one I am most excited about.

[pghFred]

my ears are burning.....

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[Brewbirds]

Welcome to the rp it is great to that you have been reading the information available to early on in your brewing. You are off to a great start in your new obsession er hobby.

Remember that there are a lot of great folks here who are happy to help.

Wings usually has a great bit of advise for new brewers: patience, sanitize, SWMBO and patience. (Did I get that right Wings?)

Good luck with the first brew and hope many more follow.

[gwcr]

Welcome aboard rpatchy! Glad you found us!! Good advice already given. Keep asking questions when you need to, and let us know how your brew turns out!

[Sparrow]

You may have already caught this from other post, but extra conditioning time is the Aztecs best friend. Maybe try one at 4 weeks, but expect much better results ( as good as Aztec gets anyway) sometime after 6 or 7 weeks.

Oh, and Welcome!

[Bluejaye]

Welcome, glad you found the place. You are spot on about everything in your original post. Cold crashing is optional, but if you have the room in the fridge without the spouse/whatever giving you the evil eye, I'd suggest it. There are several reasons why it helps, but to me the most important is so the trub is firmed up, which helps a lot when bottling. I'd suggest a bottling wand if you don't have one, they are like $3 and make things so much easier.

As Sparrow (above) states, the Aztec benefits from a longer conditioning time. 4 weeks is what is generally considered the minimum. Some need longer, a few are ok shorter. It's your first brew so you can be easily excused for not wanting to wait 6+weeks on that particular brew.

Also, I know I have found, and am not alone in this, that a few drops of lime or a slice/wedge of lime in/on the glass will greatly increase your enjoyment of the Aztec. So you might want to have a lime handy at 4 weeks when you first try it.

Did your kit also come with Czech Pilsner? If so, that one (imo) is delicious.

[philm00x]

Welcome to the borg!

[teutonic terror]

[BrownstotheBone]

Thanks SO much for the quick replies everyone! I appreciate it!! It is nice to see everyone on here is so helpful and no sign of 'trolls' so far. I can't wait to try my beer, I made the Aztec since I really think it will be the worst of the 5 types that I have. The Bewitched Amber Ale with the extra Brewmax LME-smooth is the one I am most excited about.

Welcome. That could have been one of my posts. Sounds like we're in about the same spot. I'm less than 4 months into this.

My 1st batch was Classic American Light. I rookied that one bad with high fermentation temps (no cooler) and inexperience. It wasn't very good but I drank it of course.

My 2nd batch was the Mexican Cerveza Deluxe. I got that because it looked like a good simple one to try next. After 4 weeks it never seemed right. Took everyone's advice.
I let the Cerveza sit for 2 months total and it made a big difference. Of course I did an inordinate amount of testing and "research" to determine that in that time.

My 3rd batch was Bewitched Amber Ale Deluxe. The bewitched is FANTASTIC at 4 weeks. I gave some away to co-workers, family and some went for testing at weekly intervals for more T&R.
So it's nearly gone already. But I know one thing. My co-workers are going to have some interesting comments on Monday.

I batch primed it with 4 TBSP of sugar. At first I thought it might be under-carbonated but as the beer matured I liked it better because it let more flavor through.
Either way, you have a right to be excited. I'll brew that one again with a tweek here and there for sure. Good luck!